Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Has $18.19 Million Holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. $WERN

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 1,642.2%, owning approximately 620,855 shares valued at $18.19 million.
• Werner Enterprises reported a quarterly EPS of $0.11, surpassing analysts’ expectations, while revenue for the quarter was $753.15 million, reflecting a 1% decrease year-over-year.
• The company announced a $0.14 quarterly dividend, representing a 2.0% yield, and initiated a $5 million share buyback program as an indication of stock undervaluation.

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Werner Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ:WERN - Free Report) by 1,642.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 620,855 shares of the transportation company's stock after buying an additional 585,218 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned 1.00% of Werner Enterprises worth $18,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Werner Enterprises during the first quarter worth $9,102,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its stake in Werner Enterprises by 865.2% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 171,129 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $5,014,000 after acquiring an additional 153,400 shares during the last quarter. PDT Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Werner Enterprises in the first quarter worth about $1,339,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Werner Enterprises by 33.8% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 21,660 shares of the transportation company's stock worth $635,000 after buying an additional 5,473 shares during the period. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Werner Enterprises in the first quarter valued at about $284,000. 89.32% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Werner Enterprises Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of WERN stock traded down $0.24 on Tuesday, hitting $28.37. The stock had a trading volume of 613,778 shares, compared to its average volume of 655,865. Werner Enterprises, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.02 and a twelve month high of $42.48. The firm has a market cap of $1.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.99, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $28.32.

Werner Enterprises (NASDAQ:WERN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 29th. The transportation company reported $0.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.05 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $753.15 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $736.09 million. Werner Enterprises had a net margin of 1.77% and a return on equity of 0.92%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.17 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Werner Enterprises, Inc. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Werner Enterprises declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Monday, August 11th that permits the company to repurchase 5,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Werner Enterprises Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 6th will be issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 6th. Werner Enterprises's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Werner Enterprises from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Werner Enterprises from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Werner Enterprises from a "sell" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $25.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Monday, June 2nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Werner Enterprises from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird began coverage on Werner Enterprises in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $25.00 target price on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and six have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Werner Enterprises presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $30.50.

Werner Enterprises Profile

Werner Enterprises, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in transporting truckload shipments of general commodities in interstate and intrastate commerce in the United States, Mexico, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Truckload Transportation Services and Werner Logistics.